From Life To A Puzzle Of Love
by GhostGirl63
Summary: How can life and love become such a puzle and what world will open in its place
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

A cold winter afternoon in Grandview. White snow lay like a fluffy blanket over the paths and roads. Melinda had just made her way home from her antique store and was looking foreword to a quite night in with her husband Jim and son Aiden. She arrived home at 5:00pm to find Jim passed out on the sofa.

"Working late again were we?" she asked loud enough so he woke with a fright.

"The hospital was short on staff again," Jim said pulling himself from the sofa. Jim was a doctor who had been working at Grandview memorial for over 5 years; he started just before Aiden was born.

"Have you ever thought of saying NO, I mean I never see you and Aiden wants to see more of you to. Speaking of Aiden where is he?" Melinda asked slowing down so Jim could catch up.

"Aiden is upstairs playing with robo man. Did you know when I came home he was soaked after his snowball fight with the sitter? It sounded like they had fun," he said laughing.

"Good to know" Melinda joked.

After a nice normal dinner and Aiden was tucked in to bed and Jim was sound asleep Melinda got up to get a glass of water. Melinda had a special gift that allowed her to communicate with the dead. Dead people want to talk to the living and they go to Melinda for help. Since she had a son she has learned that he can do the same as her and much much more so her main priority along with Jim's is to keep his safe.

Suddenly as Melinda was making her way back upstairs she heard a high pith screeeeeeeeeeeeem! Melinda collapsed to the floor in agony as she tried to look for the source of the screaming. Then out of the darkness came a nurse in blue scrubs and white pumps. The nurse was carrying 2 packs of cells or blood and she was shouting for a monitor and a drip. Then Melinda saw a hospital bed with a woman about 25 screaming in pain. Then nothing, just the darkness as if nothing happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

The next morning Melinda was packing Aiden's lunch box for school and Jim was telling Aiden jokes over breakfast. Melinda and Jim never liked to talk about ghosts in front of Aiden unless needed but thankfully for Melinda Jim woke up at the same time she did and they discussed the nights events before Aiden woke up.

" So what time will you be home today daddy?" Aiden asked.

" Well not sure exactly but I'll tell u what when I get home how about you and me go to the park and play together just us guys?" Jim said not wanting to disappoint his son.

"Hey that sounds good" Melinda pointed out.

"Ok then" Aiden agreed

"Well that's settled then so why don't you go and get your stuff ready for school little man and I will take you before my shift starts," Jim said with a smile

"Cool" and with that Aiden was off up the stairs to get his stuff.

"So any ideas on who our visitor was last night Mel?" Jim asked turning round to face Melinda.

"No, I just have to weight until they decided to drop in again." she half heartily said.

It was 11:00am and the sun was shining bright. Melinda was in her shop when the bell rang on the door. Her best friend Delia had walked in with her son Ned. Delia used to be Melinda's business partner before she opened her house property office next door and her son Ned aged 15, tall and mousey brown hair was also a good friend of Melinda's and someone who she would fight to protect.

"Hey" Delia said breezing in to the store and placing a cardboard tray of coffee on the counter.

"Hi" retaliated Melinda. "How are you two?" she asked

"Fine just explaining to Ned here why study group is for studying not a chance to meet his latest love!" Delia said with a slight worry to her tone.

"Well I see you two have issues. Ned you know you have to listen to your mother" Melinda joked. Ned just smiled but said nothing.

"As much as I hate to do this I have to go now, I am showing the mansion on upper state bridge to a family today and I need it to go well." she explained

"That's ok, good luck and I will call you later," Melinda said sympathetically.

As Delia left the store a man in his late 30s came rushing in to the store.

"Can you help me please my girlfriend has collapsed and I need someone to help me," he gasped.

"O my god, show us NOW," Melinda shouted as she and Ned ran for the door.

A little while later Melinda and Ned were sat in the weighting room as the doctors worked on the mans girlfriend who they found to be named Rob and Chloe.

"What do you thinks' going on?" Ned quizzed Melinda like she had all the answers.

"I'm not sure. When Rob came in he looked panicked and confused witch is a normal reaction but when I called the ambulance he changed to a dark expression like he didn't care any more," Melinda replied

"I saw that to, like he changed who he was in a matter of seconds," Ned whispered so the other people milling around couldn't hear him. Ned liked talking to Melinda and getting involved with her ghost worries.

Just then Jim came out if one of the side rooms.

"Well what's going on?" Melinda asked.

"A pretty big rip in the wall of the stomach," Jim replied. "It was caused by a large amount of bruising on the inside," he continued.

"So what she was involved in an accident, fell, what?" Ned asked.

"Looks like she fell down the stairs when she was coming out of her flat then her partner came and found her and then found you to help," Jim answered.

"I just can't help thinking there's more to it than that. I mean why would he come to the store and why would he act like that when we were around?" Melinda wondered aloud. "What is the connection?"

"Maybe it's random, no meaning to it in the slightest. I could just be a random act of fate," Ned said trying to calm the situation before any ghost could be brought up.

"I used to think like that and I would never have thought something so random could be something bigger but since the book of changes has come in to our lives I have learned to always trust my instincts and they are screaming at me that there is something bigger at play here," Melinda whispered "I can just feel something bigger is going to happen, I just know it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Later that afternoon, when Melinda had dropped Ned home, she was going through the stores inventory when she heard a loud bang like a gunshot. "Hello" she stuttered, "my name is Melinda Gordon, I can help you but I need you to talk to me," she spoke aloud. Then out of the blue again the same woman from the night before appeared in front of her. She was pale white with long black hair and wearing a long pink nightdress

"What's your name?" Melinda asked

"Leave him, he's not right," the woman replied in a dark emotionless tone.

"Who? Who are you? I can't help unless you tell me," Melinda explained calmly.

"LEAVE HIM!" the woman screamed. Then she was gone.

"She was so mad, I had no idea how to help her," Melinda described to Jim that night over dinner.

"I wanted to help but all she said was leave him, he's not right. What could that mean?"

"Not sure. Anything!" Jim said.

"Was Aiden ok getting to Chucks?" Melinda asked

"Yep fine, in fact so fine he wanted me to go straight away. So much for daddy's little boy hu! We played in the park and I then dropped him off" Jim said a little sad at the thought of his son no longer needing him.

"Good that's one less thing I need to worry about," Melinda whispered.

"So what's next? What do you do now?" Jim asked.

"Well I have to ID my ghost," Melinda said. "And I think I know where to start."

The old grandfather clock in the corner of the living room struck 1:00. Melinda had been sat at her laptop for over 4hours with no luck finding her ghost.

"Where are you? It's like you never existed," Melinda whispered.

"Lizzie! Lizzie! Lizzie can you hear me? Lizzie you need to stay with us!" pushed a voice from behind Melinda. She turned to see the same nurse in blue scrubs and white pumps holding an oxygen mask over the woman's mouth.

"Lizzie you need to stay with us" the nurse said again.

Suddenly Melinda fell to the floor in pain. She felt something tight around her stomach stopping her from breathing. The nurse's voice rang out again,

"Stay with us, you can't leave me she whispered." then it was all over and Melinda now was at an even bigger loss than before


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

The next morning, the snow had become a distance memory and the grass was green again. Aiden was at school and Jim was at work. Melinda had decided to open the store early. She was just about to sit down at the counter and take in the crisp winter morning when her phone rang.

"Same As It Never Was," she said in her usual calm and polite voice.

"Well well well haven't you been busy. Thanks for telling me," came the voice from the other end.

"Hello Eli. What haven't I told you?" Melinda replied. She loved Eli just as much as she loved everyone in her life. She met Eli about 1 year ago after he was hurt in an office fire and the Rockland University where Eli works as a shrink. Eli also took the part of Melinda's other best friend after the pervious one, Rick Pain, left for the provian jungle. After the office fire however Eli could hear but not see the dead so him and Melinda sheared that special gift to.

"Well let me see, so I just finished a little kung pow chicken and was getting ready to settle down with a little Harry Potter when the TV turned on so I knew I had a little visitor but then something spooky happened and I mean spooky spooky," he rambled

"Just tell me Eli," Melinda snapped. She did love Eli but he could be a little annoying sometimes.

"The TV went red and came up with the name Chloe Sammers," Eli continued.

By this point Melinda was already pulling her laptop close to her and frantically typing in the name Chloe Sammers.

"Yep, here she is. Chloe Sammers," Melinda said.

"Our ghost?" Eli asked.

"No," Melinda whispered

"She's the woman who collapsed outside the store the other day but her sister Lizzie Strong died 2 weeks ago after falling from her balcony in her home in East Sunny Side. That's the woman from my vision," she said with a sound of a relief to her voice at the thought of finally IDing her ghost.

"So what now?" Eli asked with a certain sarcastic hit.

"Well I go to the home where she died. If she'll be anywhere she'll be there," Melinda said pushing down the cover of her lap top and going for the door.

"WEIT," Eli screamed down the phone.

"You're going alone? Are you crazy? Some nutty ghost turns a TV screen blood red and nearly kills you in your home and you want to go to her deaths door?" shouted Eli

"How did you know about last night?" Melinda quizzed.

"Jim phoned" Eli explained a little more calmly this time.

"Fine and no I won't be going alone, I will have my trusted shrink with me to save the day. 223 don't be late," and with that she hung up, put the phone on the cradle and headed back for the door.

"Well good job getting passed the landlord you really know your home stuff," Eli said in disbelief as he and Melinda walked through the front door of 223 East Sunny Side.

"Well it helps to know someone in the housing business," Melinda commented.

"So what are we looking for?" Eli asked with a grin.

"Anything that can tell us why she's here and what's keeping her earthbound," Melinda said just loud enough for Eli to hear.

"Well maybe this will help," Eli said with a shocked tone. He was holding up a dull red book that had the word 'DIARY' printed on it with a gold marker pen. Melinda turned to the latest entry that was date marked 27th February 2009.

"This is the day she died," Melinda pointed out.

"Listen, 'nearly told her today. She is coming round tonight and I don't know how much longer I can live with a lie. She needs to know the truth'." Melinda read aloud.

"Who needs to know what?" Eli asked bluntly.

"Well lets start with her sister that can be the only person she was talking about but the big question is what was she going to tell her?" and they both headed out of the door and straight for the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone- I would just like to take this chance to thank the people who have visited this page and read the story! I know its been a long time but I just wanted to say thank you for the hits to this page and the reviews please keep them coming it's grate to hear what everyone thinks. Thank you once again and I hope to hear from people soon! Happy Reading **

**Chapter 5**

The heavy doors to the ER swung open and in rushed Melinda followed by Eli. Jim was at the front desk as they walked in.

"Chloe Sammers? What room is she?" Melinda projected.

"101" Jim replied with a sigh "I take it you have had a break through?" Jim asked leading the way to the CDU room 101.

"In there. Just be careful she has had another rip in the last 3 days and is still very weak," Jim informed.

"Don't worry we will go easy," Melinda said.

"Hello," Melinda said as she and Eli walked through the door. "My name is Melinda Gordon and this is professor Elia James. We would like to ask you a few questions about your sister if that's ok?" Melinda asked in her sensitive voice.

"What about my sister?" Chloe asked clearly weak from the medication.

"We know she died a few weeks ago but we need to know what happened and why she may have written in her diary that she needed to tell you something?" Eli explained placing the diary on to the metal tray.

"Why do you want to know," Chloe asked again.

"I have a gift that allows me to communicate with the dead and so does Eli and we have scene your sister and we needed to know why she is still here so we can help her move on," Melinda said like a pro who had done this kind of thing for years. "And don't worry this is not the medication talking we just want to help," she continued.

"My sister, Lizzie Sammers, was a good person. I went round to see her that night with Rob as she has just brought a new TV and could not get it to work. It was getting late and I decided to go home, as I had to get up for work early the next day and Rob stayed to help. I don't know what time he came in but the next morning I got the call that Lizzie was in the hospital and had fell and loss a lot of blood. I am a doctor and they need me there. She died right on the table after a 5 hour fight," Chloe said sleepily from the medication.

"So she blames you for not fighting hard enough to save her," Melinda said turning to Eli.

"It's the only thing I can think if," Chloe stammered. Just then Rob walked in. He looked mad about something.

"Sorry to break up the party," he snapped, "but I think you should go now." so Melinda and Eli walked out without a second glance.

"So that must be it," Eli said with a relieved expression on his face.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I think we will learn not from Lizzie," Melinda replied with a certain fear in her eye.

"Come on she has to be somewhere," and with that they were back out of the doors and in to the daylight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey people of the reading world, **

**Here is the latest chapter of my story so please read and let me know what you think! **

**Chapter 6**

Eli went back to the university to teach one of his classes and Melinda went back to the store.

She was about half way through creating a display for the front table when she heard another loud BANG! It was coming from the basement. Melinda made her way slowly down the old wooded stair case. When she reached the bottoms she could see Lizzie crashing and bumping in to the tables as if she could not see where she was going.

"Lizzie it's ok I know what happened and I know how hard your sister fought to keep you alive it's not her fault you died it was an accident just a misfortune for everyone," Melinda explained warmly.

"IT's NOT WHY IAM HERE!" Lizzie screamed.

"Then why are you here?" Melinda asked.

"She needs to know the truth!" she shouted.

"What does she need to know?" Melinda asked. Then suddenly Melinda was in a hospital bed with nurses and doctors all around her performing surgery in her lower body. She was screaming out but no one could here her or no one paid any attention to her. She felt herself getting shorter and shorter of breath and then nothing...

"It's was horrible I couldn't breath and I felt like I was just bleeding everywhere," Melinda described to Jim that night when Aiden had been tucked in to bed.

"So bleeding from the lower body and surgery that's could mean a number of things," Jim said puzzled by what his wife was telling him.

"I know but we need to find out what happened to her," Melinda said puzzled by the ghosts passed and what her life had no become.

"Medical records, police files," Jim interjected.

"Yep already got hold of the police files from Eli I just need the medical records," Melinda asked with a loving smile across her face making it hard for Jim to say no.

"I will see what I can get for you tomorrow," he said with a sigh at the thought of his wife going in to the path of danger. "I am off to bed you coming?" he asked.

"Yep in a bit," she replied with her head already inside the police records. As Melinda read trough the files a lot seemed to crop up that made no sense like she died of a pure accident from falling but we know Rob stayed with her until late that same night but according to the police no one was with her.

"Strange," Melinda muttered.

"No one killed me. It was just a big accident I know that," came a soft voice from behind Melinda.

"So what happened?" Melinda sighed.

"We were taking after Chloe had gone," Lizzie started.

"You and Rob?" Melinda asked.

"Yes," Lizzie replied.

"We have know each other a while and we were together for a bit but nothing serious," she continued.

"I only met Chloe 2 years ago after our parents brought us back together by that point it was already to late to go back," Lizzie whispered.

"To late for what?" Melinda quizzed.

"My Son," she said as if the information had just been ripped out if her. Then by nothing she was pulled away in a wisp of smoke.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, I am sorry its been a while but I have been crazy busy but I have managed to find time now to upload this so please tell me what you think? **

**Chapter 7**

"Her son what's that got to do with anything?" Delia asked the next morning over coffee. Delia was never open to the idea of something she could not see or touch but after she met Melinda and found out what she could do her whole life changed weather it was for the better she didn't quite understand but she loved Melinda never the less.

"Not sure. It could mean nothing," Melinda paused

"The again it could mean everything," Delia interrupted.

"Yep. It just makes me so mad that they come to me in pieces you know? I never know until it's too late or not important. I can never get a straight answer," Melinda explained a little frustrated.

"So what are you going to do next?" Delia asked.

"Find her son," she said pulling her laptop out of her bag. After a few minuets of searching through the hospitals database of all the Lizzie Sammers in the area she found what she was looking for.

"Here look. Using the medical records that Jim gave me this morning I can see..." Melinda trailed off in mid sentence.

"What?" Delia said a little worried.

"Well according to this she had a baby boy 3 weeks ago, a week before she died," Melinda said to Delia quite enough so no one around them could hear.

"So there's a 3 week old baby around with no idea who or where it came from," Delia said surprised

"Looks that way but look here it says the adopted parents took him away to New York just days after he was born," Melinda commented. "So it can't be the reason Lizzie is still here," Melinda continued.

"So it still begs the question, why is she here?" Delia asked again with a frustrated edge to her voice.

"Her sister is our best bet again but this time we need Rob to be away long enough for me to ask," and with that Melinda clapped shut her laptop, pulled it back in to her bag and walked off with Delia following close behind.


End file.
